The Sun Beyond The Clouds
by sctwilightvampwolfgal
Summary: There is a natural radiance to Adrien Agreste, a natural sunshine, and so much more than might meet the eye to who he is. *Oneshot collection written for Adrien AuGreste.*
1. Sunshine

Some people just come along, that light up the room, leave a smile tugging on your face. These people feel just like sunshine, warm and inviting. Often, they may not realize the effect of their smiles, how the joy in their laughter sparks joy in other people. Adrien Agreste, despite his inner battles, the pain that he held on to, like broken glass, too scared to let the pieces fall in the trash, holding on to the pain.

Adrien Agreste, despite that fact, loved to be around people, and when he really, really laughed, the sound was so joyous and free that you had to join in, though the sound pulled all of your senses with it. You couldn't help but be moved by the freedom there. Yet, most of the time, he kept his sunshine a little on the nervous side, as if somehow his natural charisma would not be favored by other people.

He did, however, let it shine; it came out in the less stressful moments as Cat Noir, came out when he was near friends that he found himself comfortable around. It came out, unbidden, as if he couldn't just chain it up and nervously hold it back, like a large dog that people fear that really is the biggest softie and most gentle creature that they've ever met, once they've come to know him.

His natural radiance just shone, fluttering through the air and warming up others that happen to be near by. When he smiles, sincerely, and not just for the camera, it shows. You can feel the rays of sun sparkle all through your toes and beyond, leaving you warmer and much more ready to face the day.

Adrien is so much more than just nicknamed, 'Sunshine Boy,' a name that Alya once stuck to him, by voicing and marveling over how well it fit; he becomes that nickname in the best kind of way. It flows from him, lighting up the room and leaving it better off than ever before. It doesn't even take his bright, sunshine-y blonde hair or his green as the grass gently nourished by the sun eyes to leave that feeling in the air. All it takes is a heartfelt smile, a little bit of kindness that goes beyond itself, and a warm, inviting laugh to leave you seeing him as a 'true' Sunshine Boy.

The beauty within these moments is not lost by the fact that he's not aware of their effects or aware of how much that nickname describes the warm way he makes others feel. He may not be aware of just how warm and inviting he can be, but regardless, that obliviousness will not hold back the sunshine from the clouds that threaten to dismantle it. His natural radiance always just shines through.


	2. Feathers

Somethings are really just obvious, if you look at them the right way. "Achoo!" Adrien sneezed; the culprit, a grey feather, floated to the ground past his face. Really, it sucked being allergic to feathers, when pigeons and various other birds were frequently nearby, as nature did not always fear the city, anyhow.

Adrien was not aware of any of his friends actually suffering from a feather allergy, just as he was aware that it could potentially look suspicious that Cat Noir suffered from one as well. Either way, though an identity reveal between Cat Noir and Ladybug still sounded like a mostly great idea, he hoped and prayed that his Lady was oblivious to the fact that Adrien and Cat Noir shared the same, less than common allergy.

* * *

Really, Cat Noir couldn't help it when his nose wrinkled up, his eyes crinkled, his face turned a little pink, and he sneezed. It just happened when feathers ran amok, ticking his nose, alerting his allergy to their presence, and leaving him reacting to every, single, last, one of them.

Cat Noir really wished that it was true that since he was a cat, that birds were his natural prey, instead of leaving behind the distinct feeling that he was the natural prey of birds. Did they find him an easy target? Surely, they didn't eat him as he was still standing, but they probably had a 'field day' taunting him with their feathers, leaving him a little distracted and not quite in control of how he responded to the feather overload.

Though, he could deal with the temporary humiliation that sneezing in front of Ladybug, due to his allergy to feathers of all things, brought on simply because the light sparkle to her eyes, and the beautiful though slight upturning of her lips that she couldn't seem to control at the thought of her partner in fighting crime's reaction to feathers, despite being a feline themed superhero.  
Or maybe, Cat Noir just liked the little sparkle of affection that he swore he saw in her eyes, whenever he sneezed from a feather, a look so soft and sweet that he almost always was sure that he imagined it. Ladybug didn't see him as more than just a friend, but maybe she wasn't as oblivious as he hoped for, or perhaps, he was the one really oblivious right now.

Just, what if each feather and the allergy caused by each and every single one of them, reminded her of Adrien Agreste, the boy of her dreams? Just, what if that really was affection pooling in her eyes and softening her smile? Adrien's heart was too hopeful at that thought, picking up its pace, and yet he had to brush it aside. Surely, he couldn't hope that his identity was revealed through one of the least becoming ways imaginable.

Some other Parisian had to have the same kind of allergy, though he hadn't yet met one, and besides all of that, the odds of one having his exact color of hair and natural green eyes, to boot, was pretty slim. Adrien really did want to reveal his identity to his favorite crime fighting partner through something other than a very _ill fitting _allergy for a cat themed superhero to have. Hopefully, obliviousness was on his side, because his heart couldn't handle any of the silent affection that spoke more than words seemed to, and his pride could definitely not handle _that _kind of identity reveal.


	3. Just A Friend

Really, Marinette is just a friend. Adrien would assure any and all skeptics that came on by to challenge him on that belief. Though, Marinette did look absolutely adorable, and Adrien thrilled over the moments, however rare they seemed at times, that something he said or did made her smile that smile. The smile that melted his heart and left it soaring, all at the same time, and somehow just left him feeling happier than just about everything else.

There were times when her valor, her bravery, really caught him off guard and left him stunned; there was a striking element in common between her and Ladybug, though they _were _different people. Honestly, half the time, Adrien wasn't entirely sure how he managed to meet and befriend a girl like her.

Sometimes though, he did worry that with her shyness around him and her tendency to burst into stutters at times just around him, he worried that maybe he made her uncomfortable or that she wouldn't consider them friends. Adrien, though, knows of Marinette as one of his first friends from starting up at Collège Françoise Dupont. Adrien still thinks of the day that she forgave him or rather, when all misunderstandings were cleared between them.

He remembers the rain, the thrill of a new friendship forming that made it worthwhile to trek through the rain for just a couple seconds, remembers her hand brushing his and that unfamiliar spark between their hands. It was a day that he'll never forget, as their friendship blossomed and bloomed on that very day. It's one of his most cherished memories, just as he still cherishes the day that she gave him her lucky charm. It resonates within in a way that's really quite hard to explain.

Marinette's just a friend, but she is one of his best friends and one of his first friends. No wonder, he looks back at the day that they were reconciled with warmth and affection. His just a friend is and will always be one of his dearest friends ever.


	4. Lucky Charm

It sits there in his pocket, always within a finger's reach, resting there to reassure him. He pulls it out when he really, really needs luck or when he feels lonely and nothing soothes him. It reminds him that he has a friend whose always been there for him, who is ready with a smile and sometimes sweets to share.

Adrien can't help but pull it from his pocket at night, when it's time to sleep, to just look at it, as if she were right beside him, to just experience her warmth and presence even at a distance. It rests next to his bed and up, nice and safe, at night when he sleeps, only to be grabbed right away in the morning. It always seems off to just leave it home, to not have a piece of her nearby.

Adrien figures that it's the sentimentality of the gesture from one of his first friends since starting up school that makes him cherish it so much. Out of everything he owns, and he owns lots, it's right up there with his blue scarf as his favorite gifts. The only thing he might cherish more are pictures of his mother, since that's all he has left of the woman that raised him. So, he holds onto those pictures, the blue scarf his father made him for his birthday this year, and the lucky charm that Marinette made and gifted to him before the video game tournament.

She gifted it to him so selflessly, despite it probably being a prized possession of her own, and so, when he holds onto it, he thinks of a girl that seems to breed luck despite how at odds that sometimes is for her. Marinette is not full of luck, but what luck she has just radiates and glows from her. Adrien thinks that if there was anyone out there that he's come to know this year that he most wishes he could be like, it would be her. Nino, too, to an extent, but something about Marinette inspires Adrien.

Her creativity, her joy, her selflessness, and her tendency towards giving and mostly forgiving tend to resonate, and with each time, he glances back at that surprise gift that she'd given him, he thinks of all of her positive qualities that he wishes to foster in himself a little more, and he thinks of the love that she just gives so naturally. He only knows two people that her love doesn't extend to, and those people are Lila and Chloe.

Adrien considers Marinette one of his most special friends, and even though she tends to stutter around him a lot, he's so, so glad that he met her. Holding on to the lucky charm she made feels a lot like resting in her heart, though the analogy sounds romantic, Adrien doesn't really mind or consider the romantic aspect of it that much.


	5. Partners

Partners is an interesting catch all word. For Adrien, it means watching his mother and father and knowing somehow that his mother, the model, and his father, the fashion designer, are a team, they're _partners. _So, Adrien used to dream as a kid that since he couldn't make clothes like his father did, the magical gene that seemed to skip him entirely, that he'd marry a woman that could design in the way that he could just look pretty. Adrien used to tell Chloe that partners were the most desirable thing ever. She used to roll her eyes, but Adrien had never given up on that analogy.

As he got older and his mother disappeared, Adrien gave up on sticking to the marry a designer plan. Besides, he knew that he likely would meet and fall for a designer his age anyway. He didn't give up on partners, however, so as he held back a belt tail and gazed up at the woman that had captured and stolen his heart so completely, he remembered his childhood dream and the warm, fluttery feelings not unlike butterflies that encouraged him so much from his earliest years.

A partner was someone that you could lean on and that would be there for you. She wouldn't just hold your hand and reassure you with meaningless words. She'd reach into your heart and somehow stir it back into beating and realization. Ladybug held Cat Noir glued in a way that few could.

Even though Ladybug's creativity probably could transform her into a designer or perhaps she was one of some sort, though child Adrien could get too attached to that thought, he tried to shake it off.  
Besides the only designer his age, he really knew was Marinette. A sweet, passionate, determined young woman that often reminded Adrien that you need fire in life as well as sweetness. She almost always stuttered around him whereas Ladybug held her own, but still there was something sweet about her. Adrien tried not to dream of marrying a designer too much anymore; it was a childhood dream that he doubted would ever come true anyway.

He liked to reason that he didn't need to marry a designer to discover his perfect partner, depsite what his silly, romantic and maybe youthful heart longed for.


	6. Cardboard

Usually knights in shining armor are in armor, and they are usually plated. No knight in the history of knights had ever worn cardboard, but yet Adrien knew that he couldn't leave Marinette out there fighting alone. So, he decided that Cat Noir could be a little brown today, and dove headfirst into protect his Lady, kind of like how he might have used to do so.

A team needs at least two people in it, and a partner never leaves his Lady alone to fight when they are the team that keeps Paris safe. So, cardboard armor on, and the bravest yet mostly non-existent plan set in motion, he dove out to help her take down Oblivio.

While completely oblivious to any of their past fighting experience. It couldn't be impossible if they had each other's backs, and besides, the icing on top of the cake is that they got to enjoy a kiss for even just a moment, though neither would know just how that went as purification took the city by storm.

At least, this dose of obliviousness was well worth it in the end.


	7. uwu

Perhaps it was a side effect of being a model; with that dash of handsomeness and training, it tended to flow overconfidence with a beautiful face together. It brushed the two opposing attributes into one entity, and Adrien couldn't help it.

He couldn't help it whether it came across as accidentally flirty or if it just came across as overwhelmingly cute. Adrien just happened to sometimes be so overjoyed that his smile came across in an adorable and brand new way, and it was definitely not the look that he went for when he modeled; trust him, on this one. Just trust him.

Adrien didn't even know when his smile tilted that way or when his eyes just gleamed in the kind of way that some people called smugness. It just happened against his control. Still, though Adrien would smile in that way that both was cute and a little over flattering, whether people said something or not.


	8. Cat Tendencies

Perhaps people would just blame it on the Miraculous, that all Miraculous wielders are a little strange. Adrien really, really didn't think that he acted any differently now that he had the Miraculous, except that he was a little more bold sometimes and a bit more confident. Though, confidence didn't always win love, which was a major disappointment, anyway.

Adrien just got lonely sometimes, and he really liked it when someone ruffled his hair or hugged him or just held him together like glue. It wasn't childish and it certainly wasn't cat like. No matter the way that Nino and Alya joked when it first started happening.

* * *

His green eyes curled shut, and he laid his head on Marinette's lap. It was late, and Adrien technically didn't have curfew with his father out of town right now, but he was still used to going to bed early and waking up early. So, his eyes closed, and he brushed his head against Marinette's stomach. It felt soft and warm, and Adrien had gotten closer to her over the past few months.

Marinette must be a mindreader or really distracted today as her fingers ran through his hair and she gingerly moved every blond strand. It felt warm and comforting. The only people that usually touched his hair lately were hairstylists and they weren't really known for affection or rather if they were they'd be fired for messing up his hair.

Adrien felt warm and small, like he was a little boy, and curled up against his mother's stomach, letting her fingers run through his hair and leave him ready for a nap. Always, without fail it made him sleepy.

Alya rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Just like an affectionate kitten." She was smiling though and there was not a barb at all to the words that rolled off her tongue.

"Let him be." Marinette murmured in response. Just, seeing Adrien like this reminded her that he didn't become this way, because he got a lot of affection and grew addicted to it, it had been the opposite for her dear friend. He'd never got enough affection and so even just the littlest contact reminded him that he was loved and immediately warmed him up. It was why, she couldn't help treating him just as affectionately as she would a beloved kitten.

Nevermind the fact that lately Alya had asked if she'd 'adopted' him yet. Truthfully, it probably wasn't far from the truth. Her parents absolutely adored Adrien since that old bump in the road with Cat Noir when her dad was Akumatized blew over. They just didn't want Marinette's hopes up just to be crushed again.

It took time to weave Adrien practically into the family dynamics, and yet now he was treated more like a son to her parents, and Marinette slowly got used to being more affectionate to Adrien. It was a lot like when she and Cat Noir got close; it didn't overwhelm her insides with bubbles and flurries, just a soft, warm feeling at seeing the other happy. Marinette hadn't expected friendship to take over, though she wouldn't deny that she still had a major crush on her now very close friend.

Alya sat next to her, calm and quiet. She was careful to never overstep boundaries though Marinette really doubted that she had this time. It just sometimes worried her that the wrong word would be said, and Adrien would be hurt and not tell anyone about it. He didn't like airing his complaints or his pain at all.

"It's okay." Marinette murmured when she realized that Adrien had probably fallen asleep, taken a little cat nap. Her mind grumbled at the fact that Cat Noir and probably Alya too were rubbing off on her in the ways she wished they wouldn't. She didn't mind learning to be courageous in the way Alya was or to think a bit quicker on her feet like her or to become just as selfless and loving as Cat Noir always tended to be. Just, why did she get the unintentional cat puns instead?

* * *

Alya called her his "cat mama" a few weeks later, when it always seemed that Adrien sat next to Marinette on the couch at game nights, was unafraid to cuddle with her, and Alya swore that the one time he had actually purred. He hadn't, really. Marinette just wasn't sure what to say to that. Once a kitten took a liking to you and viewed you as a mother, Marinette knew it would stay close beside that mother figure.

She just doubted the kitten description sometimes. Though when Adrien's eyes sparkled, she felt like a mouse near a curious and mischievous cat.

Marinette shook her head, but still she hated that she could see the comparison. The idea of getting closer to her crush becoming close friends, only to realize that he views you as a surrogate mother sounded like a nightmare. So, Marinette made a choice that felt rather brave in the moment, she just wouldn't think about that possibility. Even when she felt like Adrien's new best friend in a way that was quite a bit different than Nino was.

* * *

Adrien wasn't sure what to think of this though. He craved being close to Marinette sometimes more than he longed to be next to Ladybug. Something wasn't quite right, and he had no idea how to make it go back to normal. He leaned against Marinette's side, savoring the warmth of it, and knowing that she'd run her fingers through his hair when he was feeling a little tired or just needed to be reminded of just how warm she was.

He'd even forget sometimes when he was next to her about his feelings for Ladybug, too busy just admiring Marinette, remembering just how awed he was by his best female civilian friend. She didn't mind if he cuddled with her, like Ladybug didn't mind most of the time when he got close, and she actually talked to him in full sentences and was sometimes sassy with him too, now.

Adrien savored this closeness. Plagg just told him that he was treating Marinette more like the way Plagg treated cheese. Adrien was absolutely positive that that was a horribly gross analogy and not at all right. He hadn't fallen in love with her, right? He wasn't this cuddly with anyone else, and Marinette never seemed to mind how close he got.

Adrien was vaguely sure that he wasn't cat like, but maybe Plagg really had rubbed off on him after all. Nevermind all of his time saving the day as Cat Noir, he couldn't be like a kitten because he was a superhero, if he was kitten-like at all.


End file.
